


now i'm missing your smile (hear me out)

by percasbeths



Series: 12 Days of Percabeth [6]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, College AU, F/M, Not Proofread, percabeth
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-20
Updated: 2020-12-20
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:21:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28184553
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/percasbeths/pseuds/percasbeths
Summary: She doesn’t know if it’s the alcohol, or the big what-if in the air, or maybe it was just that she’d always had a crush on Percy Jackson, but she steps forward. They’re close enough that if she leaned up, she could easily kiss him. Instead, though, she raises one hand and runs it along his chest, “How long are you staying here, Percy?”When she brushes her fingers against where his heart is, she feels the quickened heartbeat. He grins, “You have me for a month.”She grins, “Let’s pretend then, yeah?”or, annabeth and percy keep things temporary, till they don't
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson
Series: 12 Days of Percabeth [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2055423
Comments: 5
Kudos: 146





	now i'm missing your smile (hear me out)

**Author's Note:**

> SORRY FOR FORGETTING YESTERDAY LOLL BUT MY SEMESTER ENDED WOO
> 
> title from 'tis the damn season' by taylor swift

“Annabeth Chase.”

The name falls from his lips so casually that she almost forgets they lost contact months ago, and she’s quick to turn and lock eyes with him, ignoring the fact that Piper had been texting her for 15 minutes to meet her in another room. 

“Percy Jackson.” She gives him a small smirk, and he responds with the same smile he’s had since they were in 8th grade, “It’s been a while.”

“I’m not the one who skipped town.” She teases, and he laughs, loud and bright in comparison to the dingy overcrowd of the party, “You got me there.”

Her smile only grows, and he takes that as an opportunity to speak again, “So, how’s NYU treating you? I heard you live with Piper now.” 

She nods, running her thumb across the rim of her red cup, “Pipes and Silena, actually. College is...it’s college, I guess.”

She takes a sip of her drink, and he takes a step forward. He hasn’t grown since she last saw him, but somehow, he seems taller. Broader shoulders, a sharper jaw, and far too handsome for Annabeth to not stare. She tries not to, though, “What about you? How’s the west coast?”

He shrugs, “It’s sunny, but I guess you take what you can get when you’re on a scholarship. I miss New York, though.”

“Oh, really? Is that why it’s taken you till sophomore year to properly visit?” The words leave her before she can stop them, and she sees his eyebrows rise for a moment, a small smile on his lips as he tilts his head to the side, “Keeping tabs on me, ‘Beth?”

She shrugs, her attention shifting to the cup in her hand for a moment, “I just pay attention.”

He’s too close, close enough that she can smell his aftershave and has to ignore the way it’s a rush of comfort. He nods once, the smile only growing and showing off his stupid dimple that she’d once believed was the most adorable thing in the world, “Did you come alone?”

“Do you really think I’d willingly come to a Goode alumni party if I had someone to bring?” She raises an eyebrow, which only makes him laugh again, “If you were looking for a hook up, you should have just said so.”

She feels her cheeks flush and she knows it's not from the alcohol, and gives Percy a small shove, “You’re still annoying.”

“I resent that.”

“Yup, still true.” She rolls her eyes, but a smile is on her lips regardless, “Also, if you were going to make a move, you should have back when we were still at Goode.”

“Nah, you were out of my league.” He pauses, then shakes his head, “Actually, you still are.”

Suddenly the crowd of the party is gone, and the little corner they were standing in has become the entire room. She can feel her ears burning, lowering the cup in her hands to meet his eyes, “You thought I was out of your league?”

He stuffs his hands in his pockets, “Well, yeah. You had literally everything going for you and every guy had a crush on you.”

“But you didn’t.” 

He scoffs, “Yeah, sure.”

She’s burning, and his eyes are so much brighter than she remembered them to be, “I’m really glad I wasn’t that obvious.”

“Why did you never say anything?” 

He shrugs once again, his eyes momentarily slipping away from hers to look at the crowd in the living room, “I don’t know--I guess I always knew you’d be the one out of Goode to make it, and I don’t compare to you.”

He meets her eyes once again, “I always wondered, though.”

She doesn’t know if it’s the alcohol, or the big what-if in the air, or maybe it was just that she’d always had a crush on Percy Jackson, but she steps forward. They’re close enough that if she leaned up, she could easily kiss him. Instead, though, she raises one hand and runs it along his chest, “How long are you staying here, Percy?”

When she brushes her fingers against where his heart is, she feels the quickened heartbeat. He grins, “You have me for a month.”

  
  
She grins, “Let’s pretend then, yeah?”

He responds with a kiss, and it’s enough for her to dissolve.

  
  
  


She knows it's an awful habit, but she and Percy’s hookups become a regular thing. He makes it a habit to visit on his breaks, even though he’d told her about how his family also liked to visit California. When he’s here, she’s his, even if it’s just temporary. He stays with his mom and they spend their days in Annabeth’s bed and she forces herself to ignore the flutter in her chest everytime he kisses her. 

By the time they reach senior year, she knows she’s fallen for him. She’d went months pushing it back, but something about the way his eyes light up when they Facetime made her feel like she’s flying.

“I just think you should tell him.” Silena says one morning, perched on the kitchen counter as Annabeth toasts a bagel and recounts her late-night call with Percy.

“Silena, I can’t tell him.” She says the words as if they’re a given fact, but she knows full well that there’s nothing stopping her except herself. Silena raises a brow, picking up her mug of coffee, “Why not?”   
  
“Because…” She trails off, exhaling a breath, “It’s temporary, okay? He has his life in California and I’m here. We don’t--we don’t know what we’d be like outside these vacation weeks.”

“Yeah, because you both refuse to let yourselves.” A sigh leaves Silena, and Annabeth chooses to ignore it, “Annabeth, it’s senior year. This Christmas, he’ll probably know whether he’s staying in New York after graduation or not.”

She hops off the counter, placing her mug in the sink, “He’d told Charlie and Jason he’s planning on moving back after graduation, by the way.”

She leaves before Annabeth can say anything else, and it’s a flurry of panic in her chest as the thought hits her. He’d stay, she thinks, but would he want her that way?

Annabeth knew she was copping out--Percy had shown long ago that he was interested in her, yet she’d chosen time and time again to ignore it. It was temporary: a quick lapse of fun and hookups for a while before they fall into random text messages and Facetime calls like any friends do. Granted, friends don’t kiss each other or tease each other over calls the way they do, but it was friends.

She wanted to act like she wanted nothing more than friendship, but the way her chest clenched told her otherwise.

She buried it instead of picking up the phone.

  
  
  


“I don’t think we should do this anymore.” The words come out quiet, but the apartment is silent save for the two of them. 

Sure enough, once Percy’s winter break rolled around, he was back in New York in his mom’s apartment. His first weekend back, his parents decided to take Estelle out to their beach house in Montauk, and Percy opted to stay behind. They’d spent the day in Percy’s bed, her in his hoodie and his arms around her as they watched Christmas movie reruns and she felt like she fit perfectly.

Yet she acted otherwise.

“What?” He tugs his face out of her shoulder to meet her eyes, and she takes the opportunity to sit up, “I just--this wasn’t supposed to go on as long as we let it. It was just for fun, right?”

He’s staring at her, brows furrowed and confused and so, so beautiful it hurts her. He knows her too well, she thinks, and she can’t let someone like that stay as close as he is. 

He swallows, “Is that really what you want, ‘Beth?” 

She nods once, lying right through her teeth, “Yeah.”

He nods, “Okay.”

She keeps the hoodie. 

  
  
  
  


The summer she graduates NYU is bittersweet. She, Silena, and Piper renew their lease for one more year, the three of them securing jobs in the city and allowing them to stick it out together. She hears from Silena that Percy moved back to the city, finding an apartment with one of his old middle school friends that had also done college in California with him. She ignores the ache in her chest, the way she felt a momentary surge of thrill when she hears that he’d remained single after winter break.

She’s hurting herself, she thinks, but refuses to say anything. He’d never told her to stay, did he? She’d left him, slipped out of the sheets that had felt like home to her and forced herself to distance, despite the fact that she never wanted to.

When Piper first found out Percy moved back, she’d managed to secure his address. She didn’t quite know the logistics behind how exactly she managed that, but she slipped the sticky note onto Annabeth’s desk and let it rest there, citing it as a ‘just in case’. Annabeth had stared at it but made no move to throw it out. And now, as she tugs on sneakers, she slips it into her pocket. 

She tries to tell herself she’s just saying hi as she makes her way into the apartment building. She’s a mess, she’s fully aware of it, even as she knocks on the door of his apartment and silently prays he’s home.

The door swings open before she can run or overthink it, and Percy’s in black sweatpants and a navy tee she remembers stealing more than once and it hurts her.

“Annabeth.” He breathes her name out, and she suddenly feels like she should shrink away. Instead, though, she waves, “Hi, Percy.”

“Do you, um, want to come in?” He shifts on his feet, and Annabeth swallows the tears burning her eyes. How did she make someone that felt like her home feel as awkward as this? She nods, and he steps aside as she slips into the apartment.

“We haven’t fully unpacked or bought all our furniture yet, so I’m sorry for--”

“I shouldn’t have called it off.” She cuts him off, blurting out the words that were choking her for months. She watches his mouth snap shut, and she takes it as a chance to continue, “I--it was stupid, and I was scared because I let you in way more than I let anyone else in, but I also liked you for most of high school and then I really got you for college and let you go and I don’t--I didn’t want to let you go. I like you, probably more than I should, and I’m tired of being scared and hurting myself and you and if I’m saying too much you can shut me up.”

She stops, exhaling a breath, and Percy’s staring at with wide eyes and she’s worried she said too much. “Okay, maybe say something because I--”

She’s cut off by his lips on hers, and she melts. He smells like the same cologne that had filled her senses that night after the reunion party, the same one she’d bought a bottle of because she hated being apart from him for as long as she was during the school months. His arms reach out and tug her closer to him, and she’s holding onto him, tight enough to make up for the months missing.

“I missed you, ‘Beth.” He whispers, brushing his lips to hers as they part for air. “I was waiting for that.”

She kisses him lightly, once more, “No more being yours for weekends, I’m fully yours.”

He squeezes her hips once, kissing the corner of her mouth, “And I’m yours.”

And she’s home.

**Author's Note:**

> this was so bad lol / tumblr: percasbeths


End file.
